Short and sweet, facts about the Amazon headquarters – Fast Facts on Amazon's HQs

Published on: February 16, 2019 / Update from: February 16, 2019 - Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

New York broke up with Amazon on Valentine's Day. The relationship got off to a rocky start when Amazon announced the end of its HQ2 search, which selected New York and Washington DC in a two-way tie-up. Noise came primarily from New York officials over concerns about the cost of living, affordable housing and infrastructure issues. This is how the strained relationship began.

New York state initially offered the company $1.2 billion in discrete tax credits, while Virginia has offered the company about $750 million in cash incentives for choosing the three Virginia neighborhoods spread between two cities, which the company calls National Landing.

Amazon's relationship with its hometown of Seattle, WA is complicated at best. The company has pumped almost €4 billion in real estate spending into the city. Amazon currently employs 45,000 people with an average salary of $110,000 per year. Critics say these measures have driven up the cost of living in the city. As the tech giant has grown, it has deferred $54 million in state taxes alone, thanks to a high-tech business incentive in Washington state.

Amazon decided to split its headquarters in two to maximize the tech talent pool Seattle, HQ1 is ranked second in the country for its tech talent job market. Washington DC ranks third and New York City ranks fifth for each city's access to top tech talent.

New York broke up with Amazon this Valentine's Day. The relationship got off to a rocky start when Amazon announced the end of its HQ2 search, where New York and Washington DC were picked in a two-way tie. Rumblings from New York representatives about concerns around the cost of living, affordable housing, and infrastructure issues started off the fraught relationship.

New York state initially offered the company 1.2 billion in discretionary tax credits, while Virginia has offered the company around 750 million in cash incentives for choosing the three Virginia neighborhoods spread between two cities, which the company refers to as National Landing. Grassroots organizing and push back from local government officials cut off the relationship.

Amazon's relationship with its hometown, Seattle, WA, has been complicated at best. The company has poured close to 4 billion in real estate spending into the city. Amazon is currently employing 45,000 people who have an average salary of $110,000 a year. Critics say these moves have driven up the cost of living in the city. While the tech giant has grown, it has also deferred 54 million in state taxes alone, due to a high-tech corporate incentive in Washington state.

Amazon decided to split its headquarters into two to maximize the company's access to the tech talent laboratory pool. Seattle, HQ1, is the 2nd in the country for its tech talent labor market. Washington DC comes in third and New York City comes in 5th for each cities' access to top tech talent.

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